I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 15 Forty Years in a Dream, Seven Days on Earth
Everyone was somewhat dazed.

As they gazed at the bright sunlight, some recalled that they had received the "Fate Dharma" in the evening and subconsciously asked.

"What time is it now?"

"How long has it been?"

Jiang She did not answer.

He turned his head and said gently, "Please trouble the mountain god to send someone over with some food."

Upon hearing the word "food," for some reason, everyone suddenly felt an emptiness in their stomachs, as if their bellies were sticking to their spines, and acid reflux surged in their stomachs, as if the acidic feeling of hunger had suddenly struck.

I wish I could swallow twenty steamed buns in one go.

At that time, they were unaware.

The local magistrate had been worrying about this for seven days.

"These people went to the Lu family to offer birthday greetings, but they're still nowhere to be seen today?"

"Reporting to the magistrate, Master Bai and the others haven't returned yet, and the Bai and Wang families have come looking for us again."

The head constable reported with his hands clasped: "We've also gone to the Lu family's house to investigate, but we have no idea where that courtyard they're talking about is. We went three times and still couldn't find it. In my opinion, the Lu family doesn't even have that courtyard; they're just delusional!"

"Oh?"

The magistrate of Xiangyang County was named Cheng Zhi, courtesy name Yuanze. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Nonsense! It's possible for one person to have hysteria, but could it be that all the servants, the young mistress of the Lu family, and their eldest daughter all have hysteria?"

he asks.

"What did the Lu family say?"

The squad leader frowned deeply: "The Lu family is strange. They said that Lu Da went with the immortal master to worship the immortals and seek the Tao. They also said that these nineteen people might all be going to learn the Tao."

Mentioning the Lu family, the yamen runner was full of resentment. He had been running around hard these past few days and couldn't help but grumble.

"Your Excellency, why is this the only answer they give when we ask them questions? What kind of behavior is this?"

County Magistrate Cheng Zhi naturally didn't believe Lu Dazhen had gone to seek immortality; he found it utterly absurd, and only the village head Tian Fu believed it. He kept pinching his brow, trying to calm the anger in his heart.

As he went along with it, he suggested a possibility.

"Could it be that these people went to offer birthday wishes and encountered bandits?"

The squad leader still clasped his hands in a salute: "Why would thieves want to rob the Lu family? If they really wanted money, they should have gone to other wealthy families. The Lu family doesn't have much left now, and everyone in the county knows that."

Talking and talking.

The squad leader lowered his voice considerably.

"I heard yesterday that the county magistrate sent people to inquire about the nearby villages. They have been behaving themselves these days, and we haven't heard of anyone entering the villages."

"It's spring plowing season now, I imagine those men are plowing the fields."

The foreman spoke very softly and cautiously.

Their county magistrate's background is somewhat questionable; it's said he came from humble beginnings. He wasn't a graduate of the imperial examinations or the classics examinations, nor did he receive any special favor through hereditary privilege. In short, that's how he got his position.

It seems he's retired from the business now.

The family even hired a tutor. Nowadays, Taoism is highly valued, and the county magistrate often goes to the Taoist temple to burn incense, talk with the Taoist priests, and learn some Taoist scriptures.

He has a strong Taoist mindset.

The magistrate nodded.

This is a difficult matter. Today is the seventh day, and we still don't know where those nineteen people have gone. If it were just the servants and Lu Da who had disappeared, it would be easier.

Among the guests were several wealthy local gentry who were related by marriage, and a great poet named Meng Haoran, who was said to have many dealings with the governor of Xiangzhou and had a close private relationship with him.

That makes things difficult.

Just as he was sitting there worrying, not knowing how to deal with his aunt or his superiors.

hurried footsteps could be heard outside the door.

"Your Excellency! There's news—"

Cheng Zhi suddenly raised his head.

……

……

The servants carried away the soup dishes and cups, and the dishes were served in a continuous stream. These people hadn't eaten for a long time, and they were all like starving ghosts reincarnated, wolfing down their food and eating with great relish.

They emptied eight jars of wine alone. Even the elderly matriarch, leaning on her cane, hobbled to the table, ate three steamed buns, and then a lot of meat and fruit before she came to her senses.

When the county magistrate arrived with his men.

This is what I saw.

Many plates were laid out on the table, most of the dishes had been eaten, leaving only a few scraps of soup in the plates. Some people even sat on the floor, their cups, plates, and bowls all empty. If it weren't for the small number of people in the courtyard and their familiar attire, he would have almost thought that more than a hundred strong men from the Lu family had come.

They were all surprised to see the county magistrate rushing over.

"The county magistrate?"

"Why has Lord Ming come?"

Someone remembered to pay their respects, and just as they climbed up by leaning on the wall and clasped their hands in greeting, they heard the attendants and servants following the magistrate of Xiangyang County start talking all at once.

"They're back!"

"Who saw when they returned? Qian San, isn't your eldest brother guarding the Lu residence? Did he see when these people returned?"

"excellent!"

"Finally, we can give an explanation to the Wang family. My lady has been doing needlework for the Wang family, and they've been so worried these past few days that they haven't even bothered to buy any embroidery."

"Seven days have passed. What have these nineteen people been doing all this time?"

"Could they have been kidnapped by a nearby village?"

The noise was chaotic, like a boiling soup.

A dozen or so people in the courtyard listened intently to the conversations of the attendants and servants.

Wang Anlan was the Wang family member they were talking about, the second son of the Wang family. This time, he went to the Lu family to celebrate their birthday, where he witnessed the "Immortal Master's" ability to turn his breath into flames, met the master of the Deer Gate Mountain, and even saw a true immortal.

I spent forty years in a dream, and when I woke up, the marks on my clothes were unchanged.

He listened, stunned.

"Seven...seven days...?"

County Magistrate Cheng Zhi's cousin was Wang Anlan's wife, and Wang Er was his cousin-in-law, so in a sense, he was his cousin's husband. The two had always been acquainted.

"Wang Er, where have you been all these days since you went missing?"

Wang Anlan suddenly realized what was happening.

He opened his mouth, and after a long while said, "I... had a dream."

Cheng Zhi frowned, somewhat not understanding what Wang Anlan meant.

"what?"

Wang Anlan, as if in a dream, vaguely recounted the events of his dream to them—omitting the part about being stabbed to death.

"Really?"

Cheng Zhi listened with increasing horror and shock.

At first, he thought his cousin's husband was bluffing, maybe he was out having an affair and didn't dare tell his wife's family. But then he heard other people chiming in with their own opinions.

The words of these people complemented each other, and their statements were interconnected, leaving no flaws.

Just like...

It's as if there really is an ancient kingdom of locust trees in the world.

"Forty years have passed in a dream, while only seven days have passed in the real world."

"Is this the method of immortals?"

The magistrate muttered to himself.

Wang Anlan recalled these events as if they had truly happened, vividly clear in his mind. After recounting his experiences over the past forty years, bathed in the morning sunlight, feeling the cool morning breeze, listening to the noisy discussions of the people around him, and having enjoyed a hearty meal in the human world, he finally regained a sense of reality.

Upon further reflection on the dream experience, a layer of separation is added.

It was vague and indistinct, just like a dream.

As they talked, Wang Anlan mentioned that Lu Pei was looking for a chance to become an immortal, but he encountered a fake immortal master who was trying to scam him. Fortunately, he met a master who gave them a "destiny method".

County Magistrate Cheng Zhizheng listened intently.

Wang Er was suddenly startled.

"By the way, that immortal—"

(End of this chapter)